Persona of Zero
by Lyric Rome
Summary: Souji Seta has left Inaba. His journey has ended. However, with a journey finished, he finds himself in a new one. A journey where he, a Zero, is summoned by a Zero.
1. Chapter 1: A New Journey

It's been one... interesting year to say the least. Going to school, meeting new people, fighting against the Goddess of the Underworld. It was an unforgettable year.

"It's almost time. You better get on the train." Uncle Dojima reminded us. I responded with a nod. All good things must come to an end. Words of farewells were exchanged between everyone. I gave a nod of acknowledgement to my friends and boarded the train. The doors closed and a few seconds later, the train slowly began to move. Everyone began running to follow.

"Thank you for everything! Stay well until we meet again someday!" Same to you Yukiko. Take care.

"You'll always be my sensei forever!" And, Kuma, you'll always be my favorite, yet annoying student.

"Please don't forget about us over there!" Don't worry Naoto, I won't.

"I love you senpai!" I chuckled. I love you too, Rise.

"I'll do my best! You better not run away to senpai!" Of course Kanji, who said anything about running away?

"I'll always remember our time together!" Me too Chie, especially since you kicked my ass.

"Distance doesn't matter to us! Even if we're separated, we're still friends!" Friends to the end, Yosuke.

As the train picked up speed, I can hear their voices of "Take care!", "See you!", "We'll miss you!" and other sentences to that effect. I slowly blinked as I gave a nod. In the short span I closed my eyes, the distance became greater. Now, I can only see them waving their hands.

The train continues to move. Their figures become smaller and smaller as the distance increases, until I can no longer see them.

I placed my bag in the compartment and take my seat. My hand reaches into my pocket and pulls out a picture of all of us together. I find myself thinking; It doesn't matter how far we are. The bonds we made will remain strong. Everyone's heart is connected to the people they know and trust. We will meet again.

With nothing else to do for the rest of the journey, I returned the picture back to my pocket and closed my eyes. Sleep came easily enough.

**~Scene Break~**

"Next stop, Tokyo." The driver announced. My biological clock is impeccable, as always. I stood up and began stretching. One thing I learned from all that travelling before is that muscles hurt if you remain stationary for hours. True enough, my back hurts.

Crack. I heard my spine pop. That feels better. I grabbed my bag from the compartment above and waited for the train to stop.

Here again at Tokyo Station. And the first thing that happens is that there's there weird green ovaloid in front of me. I walk around it and continue on my walk. Looking back, the ovaloid was following me. Weird. I continued on walking to the men's room while the green ovaloid followed. Figured if I'm gonna do something, might as well someplace with few witnesses.

Alone in the men's room, I stretched my hand through the ovaloid. Nothing happens. Then I do the stupid thing and walk right in. Real stupid, Souji.

The moment I stepped through the ovaloid, I found myself falling. Kinda the same feeling I get when I go through a television. Only difference though is that there's no psychedelic red and black square pattern as I fall. Only thing I can see is impenetrable darkness.

In the distance, I see a familiar color; Blue. Unable to control my fall, I find myself going towards the blue light. Next thing I know, I'm in a velvet blue first-class cabin sitting beside a window. And sitting directly in front of me was a short bald man with blood-shot eyes and an impossible long nose.

"Hello Igor." I acknowledged the master of the velvet room before turning to look at the woman beside him. "Hello Margaret. It's been... a day since we last saw each other hasn't it?" She just smiled at me and I smiled back. Turning back to Igor, I waited for his explanation, which in experience is cryptic and vague but helps me think.

"It has been sometime since we last saw each other." Igor said as he assumed his patented 'Standard Posture' which involves left hand at right elbow and right hand under chin. "I must apologize for abruptly bringing you here, but there was no other alternative."

"For an unknown reason, you have been called to another world." I nodded in silence, urging Igor to continue. Better to let the man continue speaking. Learned that the hard way. "Your journey continues on. And for that reason, we of the velvet room will continue to provide our services. As usual, the only price we ask is the same that we have asked in the past."

"Abide by the contract and assume responsibility for all the decisions you make." The words immediately came to my mouth which I recited in monotone. "What is the contract? I don't remember making a promise to anyone after leaving Inaba."

Igor just gave me one of his cryptic grins. Left in the dark again until I figure it out. The usual stuff, just like the investigations.

"I guess that's everything then." I stood up from the chair and walked towards the exit, which was labeled "Emergency Exit". I gave myself a mental chuckle at that.

"'Til we meet again." Igor smiled as I jumped out the door into the abyss.

**~Scene break~**

"Who are you?" I heard a girl's voice, which means... I'm not sure what it means. I do know that I heard it sounds like French, but for some reason I can understand it.

I open my eyes and see a girl examining me. Short, pink-haired with reddish eyes. Flat as a cliff-side. Cute. She looks like she's wearing a uniform with cloaks. She's holding to a wooden stick.

"Me...?" Remain calm. Think rationally. Gather Information. Formulate theories and test.

Igor said something about being called to another world. If I didn't have experience with the TV world, I wouldn't have believed in other worlds.

Okay... Name. Real name or alias? "Souji Seta" Might as well tell the truth.

"Where are you from Commoner?" I'm hearing French, but my mind translates it to Japanese. Must be magic. Reminder: try written text.

Commoner? What does she mean by that? She's Nobility?

I stood up. The girl was short; I nearly stood a foot higher than her. Looking around, everyone had some sort of stick in their hand and wore the same uniform as the girl.

"Louise, what were you thinking, calling a commoner with 'Summon Servant'?" someone asked, and everyone but the girl who was looking up at my face started to laugh. Commoner again? Need to find out what it means later.

"I... I just made a little mistake!" The girl in front of me shouted in a refined voice. Well, it should but I'm perceptive. A lot of things can be revealed if one listens. Sadly, very few people do.

"What mistake are you talking about? Nothing unusual happened."

"Of course! After all, she's Louise the Zero!" someone else said, and the crowd burst into laughter again.

It appeared the girl looking into my face was named Louise. Her nickname's Zero? A failure? Or someone like me? Judging from the what the others are doing, failure seems a good bet.

"Mr. Colbert!" the girl, Louise, shouted.

The crowd parted, revealing a middle-aged man. Bald, wears glasses, carries a staff, and wears a robe. Basically screams of wizard, teacher, and professor. Compared to the teachers I had, I'll take this 'Colbert' over Noriko Kashiwagi.

"What is it that you want from me, Miss Vallière?"

The girl named Louise seemed to be in a panic, begging to redo something and gesticulating frantically. "Please! Let me try the summoning one more time!"

Summoning. A type of magic where the caster calls something or someone from another location. Sub-school of conjuration. Used primarily by Druids, Conjurers, and Malconvokers. I played dungeons and dragons before so know stuff. I wonder how much of the fantasy genre is real.

Mr. Colbert, the man wearing the black robe, shook his head. "I cannot allow that, Miss Vallière."

"Why not?"

"It is strictly forbidden. When you are promoted to a second year student, you must summon a familiar, which is what you just did."

Familiar. A creature which acts as an extension of the mage. Long process short, creature is made to be a servant and or slave of the Magus. There are many types of familiars; Standard animals such as dogs and ravens, spirits such as kitsune and inugami, and the most powerful being Ghost Liners.

Type-Moon has good stuff, only problem was all that weird ero-scenes. Nasu sucks when it comes to those.

"Your elemental specialty is decided by the familiar that you summon. It enables you to advance to the appropriate courses for that element. You cannot change the familiar once you have summoned it, because the Springtime Familiar Summoning is a sacred rite. Whether you like it or not, you have no choice but to take him."

"But... I've never heard of having a commoner as a familiar!"

"This is a tradition, Miss Vallière. I cannot allow any exceptions; he," the middle-aged professor pointed at me, "may be a commoner, but as long as he was summoned by you, he must be your familiar. Never in history has a human been summoned as a familiar, but the Springtime Familiar Summoning takes precedence over every rule. In other words, there is no other way around it: he must become your familiar."

Everyone around laughed. Louise scowled at them, but the laughter didn't stop.

"You have got to be joking..." Louise drooped her shoulders in disappointment.

"Well then, continue with the ceremony."

"With him?"

"Yes, with him. Hurry. The next class will begin any minute. How much more time is this summoning going to take? After mistake upon mistake, you have finally managed to summon him. Hurry and form a contract." Everyone voiced their agreement and began jeering.

'Next class' implies that this is a school. 'Contract'... If I remember correctly, something which seals the pact. Pactio comes to mind. I gave myself a small grin at that. Negi Springfield had it good.

I took a knee. Assuming it will be a kiss, prior experience says it is hard to kiss someone a foot taller than you. She gave me a troubled and hesitant look, but gave up and approached.

"You should count yourself lucky. Normally you'd go your whole life without a noble doing this to you."

She called herself a 'noble'. That meant she had a social status. I wonder what the definition of a noble is in this world. Can't be too different if I'm hearing hearing them in French.

Louise closed her eyes with an air of resignation. She waved around the wooden stick in her hand. "My name is Louise Françoise Le Blanc de La Vallière. Pentagon of the Five Elemental Powers; bless this humble being, and make him my familiar."

She chanted those words over and over, like a magic spell, and touched my forehead with the stick. Her lips then slowly drew closer.

Soft lips. Lucky me, I kissed a cute girl. Rise was proactive, but she never kissed me except on the cheeks, well she tried, but I evaded. All the other girls were reserved. Then again, why do I mind? I had girlfriends back in the countries I lived in. Kissed many girls.

Louise removed her lips. "It is done."

Her face is red. Must have been her first kiss. I kinda feel guilty for taking her first kiss, if it really was her first kiss. Even then, I feel guilty for taking a kiss from her. If I took a kiss, it was mutual on both parts.

***Smash***

Time stops. This familiar feeling again. The familiar card; this time inscribed with the picture of a sun. Relationship, Louise Francoise le Blanc de la Valliere

Hello creepy internal voice from nowhere. You came at a bad time.

**"Thou shalt have our blessing when thou choosest to create a Persona of the Sun Arcana…"**

Bye creepy internal voice from nowhere. Time resumes.

Another thing added to the list of things to ask; do I have to go through this again? Well, let's watch what happens now.

"You have failed 'Summon Servant' many times, but you have managed to succeed with 'Contract Servant' in one try," Colbert said happily.

"It's just because he's only a commoner."

"If he was a powerful magical beast, she wouldn't have been able to make a contract."

Some of the students laughed.

Louise scowled at them. "Don't make fun of me! Even I do things right once in a while!"

"Truly 'once in a while', Louise the Zero," laughed a girl with gorgeous curly hair and freckles on her face.

"Mr. Colbert! Montmorency the Flood just insulted me!"

"Who are you calling 'the Flood'? I'm Montmorency the Fragrance!"

"I heard that you used to wet the bed like a flood, didn't you? 'The Flood' suits you better!"

"I hadn't expected better manners from Louise the Zero."

"Watch it! Nobles ought to show each other the proper respect," the middle-aged wizard interjected.

"Gah!" Sudden pain. A familiar sensation on my left hand. It's the same whenever I get hit by an Almighty spell. I took a look, and there it was. The skin on my left hand was injured, but unlike the mass damage a Megido spell would do this one is concentrated. It was making a specific injury, like a set of runes.

"Don't mind it. It'll be only for a few seconds." Colbert explained as he kneeled and took my hand. He adjusted his glasses as he examined the runes. "Interesting. I have never seen these runes before. Research will be required."

Gandalfr. Weird. I see the runes as symbols I can't comprehend, but the word Gandalfr comes to mind. What the hell is Gandalfr. The only thing I remember that sounds the same is Gandalf, and that's not helpful. Or is it?

Colbert stood back up and I did the same. "Well, let's go back to class, everyone." He announced to the group of students.

***Smash***

Time stops. The familiar card is my card; The Fool. Relationship, The Academy.

**"Thou shalt have our blessing when thou choosest to create a Persona of the Fool Arcana…"**

Time resumes. Academy? A whole school is my social link? Damn.

The middle-aged professor turned on his heel, then rose gently into the air. The other people who looked like students also floated up.

Did they…? How did…? What the…? Uhhh…?

Occam's razor. Magic exists, and they used it to fly. Let's go with that until further notice.

"Louise, you'd better walk back!"

"She shouldn't try to fly. She can't even manage levitation."

"A commoner is perfect as your familiar!" the students jeered as they flew away. And that brought me back from my thinking, which I do often.

The only ones who remained are me and Louise. "Who are you?" She demanded of me.

"I already told you. Souji Seta, Seta being my family name." I replied in my usual tone, which was indifference.

Well, that pissed her off. "Don't you dare use that tone of voice commoner!"

"I have questions. Who are you? Where are we? And What just happened?" Simple questions which answers a lot of things.

"I don't know what backwoods you came from, but all right, I will explain it to you." Impatience and annoyance, I can see emanate from her, in a metaphorical sense. I don't have Feeling-vision. "I am Louise Francoise le Blanc de la Valliere. You are at the Tristain Magic Academy. And I apparently summoned an idiot familiar." I really don't mind the insult. You'll just see how intelligent I actually am later.

"…And a commoner?" I was getting impatient myself.

"Someone who can't do magic." Was the reply.

That's stupid distinction full of racism and discrimination. Well, I can't say the history of mankind is all that pure and good. Looking from an objective viewpoint, however, I can say that their society isn't that much from the middle ages.

Now… I feel stupid for returning my persona's to my soul, but at least Izanagi is still with me. I need to see Igor later, that I'm sure of. Well, time to impress Valliere-san.

"Hey Louise." I called out to her while raising my hand in front of me.

Immediately she turned to face me. "What is it commoner?"

This might be a stupid action, I'll admit that. Still, better make a good impression on, if I think I'm right, is my master. So, prepare to be amazed.

"Persona."

* * *

Author notes.

Well, this is my first fanfic that I've written. So I do expect that this will not be my best work, but regardless I'll continue on. I appreciate comments and criticisms as they are one of the ways a writer can improve. However, if you have nothing good to say, please don't bother saying anything at all.

My sources for this story will be numerous, but with regards to the plot, I'm gonna loosely follow the novels and the anime. I have something planned for this which X-overs with Persona series. However, nothing is set in stone yet.


	2. Chapter 2: Q&A

_Author notes_

_Sorry for the delay. School takes priority over fanfiction writing. Anyways, second chapter is here. From this point, things have diverged from the novels. And this is where we'll see how well I do with regards to creating a different work from the sources which I based this story on. With regards to me giving Souji that, this allows for potential plot hooks and can avoid him turning into a homesick emo._

_Replies the reviews_

**Destinydeck **- _Yup. Souji only has Izanagi of the Fool Arcana. This is because he had no need of the other personae, or so he thought. It also makes for good Book Ends._

**Trife** - _I had a reason for giving Souji Gandalfr runes. It will appear much later in the story though. As for Derflinger, **[red truth]** the talking sword will not appear. **[/red truth]**_

_

* * *

_

It's evening now and we're at Louise's bedroom. As for what happened in the field this afternoon…

**~ Flashback ~**

In one swift motion, I crushed Izanagi's card. As usual, Badass Longcoat Izanagi came and waved his Giant Knife-Sword-Thingy calling forth a Zio, which I aimed in the space between me and Lousie.

Bzzt. Uncomfortable visible silence. The kind of silence where you could hear a pin drop.

"W-w-what… w-w-was… t-t-that?" I take it that my demonstration had a shocking effect on her. Pun unintended. "Y-y-you called… L-L-Lightning?"

"Yes I did."

Wait what? I called lightning. True. Didn't she see Izanagi? Better try this again. "Izanagi!" I repeated the summoning motion replicated my previous action. This time however, I intently focused on the image of Izanagi as I crushed my card, just like how I normally do with.

"Eeek!"

"Did you see a large black figure with a giant sword-knife-thingy?" I am curious about why she didn't see Izanagi earlier.

Louise merely nodded with mixed feelings of awe, fear, wonder, and shock. It was probably because a "commoner" used "magic", in a sense.

**~ Back to present ~**

…It was a learning experience. Looks like I actually call personas outside the TV world and I can choose whether they appear to others or not. This has some interesting potential.

"Have you called yourself?" I asked Louise, who was sitting on her bed.

She just nodded in reply.

"I am sure you have many questions. I will answer all of them to the best of my ability. If there is any clarification, do not hesitate to interrupt." I took a chair and sat facing her.

It took a while for her to gather her thoughts and ask relevant questions. I just sat there, waiting patiently for Louise. Finally, she opened her mouth. "What was that?"

I took the question to mean my abilities. "That will be a complicated question to answer. Please give me a moment." I took my bag, which has miraculously survived intact with all my important mementos and effects, and pulled out a small case.

"What you saw was a Persona. My first one, to be exact." I supplied while I opened the case.

"A persona is… a facade which one wears to cope with the problems of the world." I pulled out cards from the case and handed them to Louise.

"Tarot cards?" Louise asked as she examined the cards I gave her. It seems they know about Tarot cards. To what extent, I don't know.

"Each persona subscribes to the Major Arcana." I continued my explanation. "However, personas are not the only ones with Arcana. There exist creatures called Shadows. These Shadows are…"

What word to use? I doubt they even know about Freud and Jung. It would take a longer time to explain psychology and how the mind works. Something simple and easy to understand… Hmm… Let's go with devils.

"…devils which are born when you, me, or any human are dissatisfied with their lives and repress their emotions and feelings."

"What?" Louise interjected. "T-t-that means…"

"Yes and no." I immediately supplied, even without knowing what she will say. "The specifics of how a Shadow is born is not known to me, however it would require an external catalyst for it to be born."

Louise breathed a sigh of relief. Understandable since she had a lot of pent up repressed emotions bottled up in one small package.

"And then there's the fact that a Persona is a Shadow." I dryly added.

Predicting an outburst, I immediately covered my ears. I could see Louise's mouth move and hear a muffled "What?", but thankfully, my eardrums has been spared.

"A persona is a shadow which has been… tamed and controlled." I added before she loses it. "Typically, it would take a great will to tame a persona. If a person has insufficient will, the persona will rebel and kill the human."

Louise closed her eyes. I guess she's going over my explanation of my abilities.

"So… You tame Devils which then become a Persona you control?" Louise asked, seeking clarification.

"Personae. Plural. And yes."

"Personae? How many do you control?"

"Most people can only control one Persona. As for me, I control about a hundred or so Personas. However, I can only be accompanied by Twelve at anytime. Anymore than twelve and I may lose control over them." Well, I'm not sure if I will lose control over them, but I don't want to risk it.

It seems my answers keep on confounding and stunning Louise. Well, if someone summoned what could technically be a Devil Summoner who has command over a hundred devils, who wouldn't be stunned?

"A-a-a h-h-hundred?" Louise keeps on stuttering whenever she's stressed, awed, and or demented. She needs to unlearn that trait of hers.

I just shrugged. "What can I say? I'm special." Wild Card plus Fool makes one very special.

I pulled one of the cards she was holding. "I am like The Fool." I showed her the card with a man near a cliff along with his dog. "The Fool is a Zero. He is nothing, only an empty container. But because he is zero, empty, he can be filled with anything. The Fool represents limitless possibilities."

"But I'm a failure. I have never even successfully cast magic." Louise, downcast counters my description. "Every possibility ends with my failure."

"I never said you were a Fool." I pulled out another card and showed her another card. "Do you know what this card is?"

"The Sun?" Louise shook her head.

"The night is darkest just before dawn. But certainly, the dawn comes and with it, the Sun."

"What does that mean?"

"It's a metaphor." I gave her a smile of assurance. "The Sun represents success. However, the road to success is fraught it failure as you may already know. If you stray of the road, your dawn may never come."

"So there's still hope for me?" She looks towards me with something similar to cute puppy eyes. She's looking for hope, and I'll give it to her.

"There is, if you don't give up. I will even help you-"

"Really?" Louise quickly grabbed my hands as if begging.

"If you agree to my conditions." I purposely ignored her. It's mean of me, but I need some assurances.

Louise quickly became tensed. I guess she never expected to negotiate with me, her familiar.

I raised my left hand and pointed to the runes inscribed. "I was forcibly bound to a contract I have no knowledge of my surroundings. Imagine yourself taken from your house, from your family and friends. Imagine not seeing them for… an undetermined amount of time and forced to live in a strange land. That's how I feel at the moment." I'm not angry. Well, maybe a little. But there's no use crying over what just happened.

Let's see what I can get away with. Probably something which would be provided for me even if I didn't ask.

"Here are my conditions." I used my already raised left hand to enumerate each single condition I have. "One, you will not treat me as an animal but as a human. Give me proper respect, and I shall do the same. Two, you will provide me with adequate living accommodations. A pillow and some blankets will be sufficient for this room. Three, In matters where my knowledge exceeds yours, you will defer to me and my expertise. The same would apply to me as well. Fourth, you will not mention to anyone about my abilities. And lastly, fourth, as I come from a different land, I want you to teach me how to read and write your language."

Louise breathed a sigh of relief. I wonder, what did she expect me to demand? It's probably something serious, by the looks of it. I'll avoid that train of thought.

"Is there anything you wish to clarify about my conditions?"

"No." Louise shook head for added emphasis. "I accept them."

***Smash***

**"Thou shalt have our blessing when thou chooseth to create a Persona of the Sun Arcana…"**

"Ah yes." I suddenly remembered something. "There are some things which I want to talk to you about, but that can wait. You need to rest."

Louise looks like she's been grilled by a sadistic teacher, and then had to undergo the standard insults and catcalls of bullies. The latter part was true, sadly. At least she now had a measure of hope.

"No arguing. Go. To. Sleep."

**~ Scene Break ~**

I immediately left Louise's room after forcing her to rest. A spoiled brat, requesting me to change her clothes. I had to tell her off, saying that such actions are fitting for a lazy person, and that I will renege if her attitude doesn't change.

That did the trick, for Louise started changing by herself. I then left quickly. I do know that some rich people change their clothes in front of their servants and or have servants change their clothes for them, but my common sense, decency, and pride convinced me to get out.

Anyways, I left her room to wander around to get acquainted with my new world and to get some blankets and a pillow for a makeshift futon. To obtain my needed materials, I would need to find a servant.

Soon enough I found one. A young girl about the same age as me, give or take a year or so, wearing a maid's outfit. Let me reiterate. She's wearing a Maid outfit. A real Meido. In the words of a drunken master, a Maid is 'a 'mythical being' that all of us have heard about, but have never seen.'

There was something different about her that I noticed. With regards to the people I have seen in this strange land, her physical features are different; Her features were Asian. To me, she was sticking out like a sore thumb.

"Excuse me" I approached her slowly. "But do you know where I could find some blankets and pillow?"

**~ Scene Break ~**

Me and the maid, whose name was Siesta, talked together while helping with finding blankets and pillows. She was even kind enough to give me a tour of the castle and explain some of the questions I had. At first she was intimidated by my size, with me being near six feet tall and towering most people, but she warmed up to me immediately. I think it was probably due to my charisma. I'm a people person.

According to Siesta's explanation, I was in Tristain Magic Academy, located in the country of Tristain, in the continent of Halkeginia. From what I gather about the names of the countries, Tristain, Germania, Gallia, Albion, and Romania, and the knowledge I have from my schooling, I can say that this parallels real life Europe in the Middle Ages. Where's Iberia though? It seems to be missing. I'll ask Louise sometime about it

Also, she explained the difference between Noble and a Commoner. Simply put, according to Siesta, Nobles are ones who can use magic while Commoners are ones who can't, barring certain exceptions.

I know I should rant about this, with me taking up a moral high ground because of being a more knowledgeable and cultured person, but I'll pass. It's not my place to remind to judge societies. Even back home, this kind of stuff happens. Still leaves a bad taste in my mouth though.

We parted ways once we reached Louise's room. I had to make my makeshift impromptu futon while she still had some other duties to attend. She did invite me for breakfast in the kitchen tomorrow. And I didn't get a Social Link. I guess I was expecting too much.

I entered Louise's room as silently as possible. That was a wise decision as Louise was already asleep when I entered. I quickly made a makeshift futon. Still, even with a bed, I was still restless. If I can't sleep, then I should do the next thing on my priority list: Find the Velvet Room.

…

…

…

Damn. This is place is too big. I had to search six towers and their hallways and god knows how long I took to find the door, which was at the main gate. Only hint I got was the velvet key I got which was reacting to how far I was from the entrance.

With me now at the entrance of the velvet room, I touched the door. Something was different though. The door was opening. In all the time I entered the velvet room, the door never opened. If I had to take a guess, something significant will occur.

"Hello Igor. Hello Margaret." I greeted the two residents of the room. Earlier, the room was a first class cabin. Now it looks like an airport terminal colored velvet blue with a dark fog outside. One detail I immediately noticed was that there are others inside the room aside from Igor and Margaret.

To the far left of the terminal, I saw was a man in with long black hair tied to a pony-tail, wearing a white suit. What made him standout though was the butterfly mask he was wearing. Talking to the masked man was another man, one with blond hair, with mismatched heterochromatic red and blue eyes wearing a blue business suit.

To the right, near one of the gates, the last unknown was a figure wearing a black longcoat with chains wrapped around him in a cross shape. His head was wrapped in bandages, obscuring his face save for one of his eyes. He reminded me of The Reaper, and that makes me very uncomfortable.

"I have been expecting you." Igor, who was sitting on one of the benches in the middle of the terminal, called out. "You arrived sooner than I anticipated though. Have a seat." He pointed to the empty bench directly in front of him. "I believe you have questions. I will answer them to the best of my abilities."

"You are curious about the ones in the velvet room. The figure to your right…" Igor gestured to the bandaged figure "… Is The Reaper, the very same Reaper which you and your friends fought again and again." I gulped.

The Reaper. That one entity we had to fight again and again to near death to improve our abilities. That brings back a lot of painful memories. I winced. Those memories fighting The Reaper were one of the the most traumatic everyone had.

"Do not be alarmed. He is not here to fight you. Rather he is like your bear friend; A Shadow. And he was invited here by our master." He pointed to the one wearing a butterfly mask. "Our master, the proprietor of the Velvet Room, Philemon. And the one with him is Louis Cyphre, a… broker of favors."

"I take is that Philemon is a guide?" I couldn't help but take a jab at the choice of name and the similarity of everything related to Persona with regards to Carl Jung. "And that Louis Cyphre is one not to be fully trusted?" That one was probably influenced by watching to many Yakuza and Mafia movies before.

Igor gave a chuckle. "That is correct. Regardless, let us continue with the matters at hand."

"Please do."

"Firstly, your personae. Please examine Izanagi."

I closed my eyes and looked into my soul. The image of Izanagi came along with his information. I could immediately see a difference.

Agi, Bufu, Garu, Zio, Hama, Mudo, and a new heading; Tera.

"Tera? Is this somehow related to Earth?" I asked, already expecting the obvious.

"That is correct." Igor confirmed. "The rules of that world is different compared the rules of the world you come from."

"Wait." Something which Igor said just bugs me. "You referred to different rules of worlds. That means that there are parallel universes?" Okay. This is mindboggling. Multiple universes exist? Wasn't that just a theory?

"Of course they exist. Where else would you obtain your persona?"

"From my mind?"

"While that it is true that your personae are born from your mind and soul, where did you obtain knowledge of the obscure personas?"

"I..." I couldn't find an answer for that one. Igor has a point there. A year ago, I have never heard of some of the personae I had until I got them. Some of them were really obscure. It took me research to discover who or what they are. "I don't know."

"To put it simply, your personae, or the inspiration for them, comes from entities of an alternate universe which project themselves to your mind." Igor explains the origins of the source of my personae.

In summation, my brain is connected to a demonic realm where every single fabled entity of religion and or mythology exists. And those denizens project themselves into my brain thereby becoming the basis of my persona. Somehow, I find the prospect of my mind being an entry point for demons to be terrifying.

"What about other persona users? Are they connected to this demon world as well?" In retrospect, this is a question I shouldn't have asked. But I do need to know, and I regret this.

"Of course. Every mind from your world is connected to that alternate universe, and they form the basis of Personae. You are more open than others, hence you can have more personae."

This discussion is really important. I can see now why I'm physically here instead of staring off into the distance like a shell-shocked soldier. Huh? I'm physically here…

"Then what is this place?" I remembered something which Igor told me before. "The Velvet room is located between consciousness and subconsciousness. I am physically here, so that means that this isn't the velvet room."

"You are very sharp to have noticed." Igor complimented. Margaret just had that stunned look on her face. "I do forget you had to solve a complicated mystery. As you said, this is not the velvet room, per se, but a location between worlds. You could call this place the Velvet Terminal."

"Uhuh…" What is it with Igor, Velvet, and Blue? Everything related to Igor has the color of blue and. The room, the cards, the butterflies. All of them are blue. "And what's the purpose of the Velvet Terminal?"

"What is the purpose of an airport?"

"Facilitate travel." And that's when it hit me. I just answered my own question.


	3. Chapter 3: Comforts and Impressions

"Let me get this straight. You're offering me a chance to go back home?" I asked for clarification. This offer would seem to be too good to be true. Even if it was Igor who was offering, there is always a catch.

"Yes I am." Igor replied in serious monotone.

"And the catch?" I swallowed. Here comes the moment of truth.

Igor pulled out a deck of cards, all of which are familiar to me. Handing me a few, I noticed that despite the similarities it has with the Tarot cards which pervades every aspect of my journey, these ones doesn't have any designs. They have the frame, but no picture or number. Blank cards.

"I believe you remember when Izanami gave you your power?" Igor asked. I do remember. Barely. "By taking these cards, you will have the ability unlock the potential within others."

Unlock the potential within others? "You're giving me the ability to give personae to others." It wasn't a question. It was a statement which bewildered me. Imagining myself handing out personae? I find the prospect to be beyond me.

And now, the greatest question of them all. I might regret asking this or I might not get an answer, but I want to know. "Why?"

"I am not at liberty to divulge information." Great, that means I either have to figure this out, or this really is a need to know basis. Considering that Igor's boss, Philemon, was talking to the shady guy by the name of Louis Cyphre, I get the feeling I don't want to know.

Well, if the price is me giving out personae, might as well do it responsibly. "To who I give it is my decision?"

"That is correct." Igor gathered the cards and stored them in a small pack. Pushing it in front of me, he added. "The cards will not be visible unless you wish it so. One who takes a card will unlock their potential."

That means I have to show it to them, and they themselves must take it. Still, better to err on the side of caution. I don't what a repeat of what happened a year ago.

Taking the pack of cards in front of me, I tucked it safely in my pocket where it suddenly disappeared. I now felt their weight inside me, as if some power was on my shoulders. Nice symbolism.

"Passengers heading to Tokyo, please head to Gate four." A female voice gave the announcement. Looks like I can travel to and fro now. I am so abusing this.

"Well then, I'll you two later."

**~ Scene Break ~**

The time is eight o'clock in the morning and I'm here back in Tokyo, conveniently finding myself in front of my house. Very few know of its address because I rarely stay here. Most of the time, my addresses are dormitories. It's a necessity, having to move to different places because of my parent's line of work.

"I'm home." I announced as I entered the door. Not that anyone will hear me, just a force of habit.

"Welcome back." I unexpectedly heard a voice coming from the kitchen. Looks like Hahaue is home after her tour in Germany. I should go over to the kitchen.

"Ohayo. Uhh… Dad still in the Philippines?" I had to ask. If I'm going to be away from home for god knows how long, I should explain to my parents.

"The construction project got delayed." Mom paused her knife work and turned to face me. "He'll be back in a month or so. But what about you. Where have you been last night?"

I take it she's referring to my late arrival home. Now, I have a few choices with this regard. I could lie, I could tell half-truths, or I could come out in the open and tell her about everything. Thinking about it, I'll go with choice number three. Only problem is how to explain this.

After a minute or so of finding a way to explain my predicament, Mom spoke up first. "Were you out partying, and found a pretty?" She gave me a wink at that. What? "I do hope you used protection." Oh hell no. What the hell. This is just absurd.

Apparently, my facial reaction was amusing. Mom covered her mouth, trying to suppress her laughter.

"Ma?" That was the only thing I could say given the situation. Despite my ability to remain calm in life or death situations, this is something I'm not used to.

"Oh? Ryotaro-kun told me you were a player back in Inaba." Hnnng. "You were dating four girls at the same time." And Mom did a noblewoman's laugh. Seriously… All I could do was stand there and look dumbfounded.

"…" I remained silent. Aything I say will be used against me. And for that matter, I had healthy relationships with Yukiko, Chie, Rise, Naoto, Ai, and Yumi, which in the eyes of others would be considered dating. It wasn't dating, though I didn't bother correcting other people.

I certainly didn't come here to talk about my love life. "This and that doesn't matter right now."

"And what is it matters now?" Mom playfully asked. I often find myself thinking my mom as an older sister rather a parent. With all her behaviour and mannerisms, as well as looking younger for her age, that shouldn't be far off. Well, to business.

"I suddenly discovered I had magic abilities and I could travel to another dimension where I was contracted to help them. Now, I have to spend my time in the other dimension." This sounded like a bunch of bull, even to me, but it's the truth. And I have to convince my mom that I'm not insane, crazy, and or delusional. Luckily, I have an ace.

"Here, let me show you." I headed towards the television located in the other side of the room opposite mom and stuck my entire head in. A few seconds later, I pulled my head out and turned to mom.

Mom was just standing there looking calm and collected, with her eyes closed. Normally, people would be panicking right about now. This isn't what I expected. Not one bit.

"Uh, Mom?"

"You can go, Souji. Do what you have to." What? This really is unexpected. I was ready to argue about me this and all that, but I to get permission I only needed to explain and stick my head inside the television. I think something's wrong here.

"Mom, are you alright? You're not sick or anything?" I'm worried right now. Really worried.

"Of course I'm alright." Her voice was calm and unfazed. Either I'm missing something here or my mom is one open-minded parent.

"You're not freaked out about what just happened?" Maybe I'm too insistent about this. Maybe mom hit her head or something or she's spaced out. But I have to make sure. After all, you can't be too careful about these kinds of situation

"After what happened between me and your father, I'm not too surprised about such things."

"Huh?" I raised an eyebrow. "Between you and dad?" Dad was something related to supernatural, and mom was involved? This sounds interesting.

"Ask him when he comes home." And mom returned to her cooking. I also take that to mean the end of our discussion where I learned my mom is open-minded and my dad is connected to something supernatural.

"Alright." And so I went to my room and got packing.

More or less an hour later, I was finished

"I'll be off now." I passed by mom who was busy eating her breakfast, waving a farewell. "I'll come back and visit time to time."

"Take care Souji." Mom paused to wave me goodbye as a passed by her. Still, I can't believe that she's that open-minded and dad has some skeletons in his closet. I'll just find out when he comes back. Now, to tie up some loose ends.

I pulled out my phone and pressed the speed dial. A few seconds later, the line connected. "Hello. Dojima Residence." Nanako answered the phone.

"_Hi Nanako. It's Onii-chan."_ I carried on the conversation as I walked towards the blue door at the corner of the street. _"Is Ryotaro-oji-san in the house?"_

"_Hi Onii-chan."_ I could hear her happiness through the phone. I should call more often in the future. _"Outo-sama's not home."_

"_I see. Can I leave a message?"_

"_Wait a second."_ Nanako puts down the phone. She's probably getting some paper and a pen.

"_I'm back."_

"_Welcome back."_ I casually replied. _"Could you tell Dojima-oji-san to go into my room and give the box labelled 'Investigation Supplies' to Naoto-kun, and to tell Naoto-kun have the box quickly delivered to my house without any questions, and to not worry about me?"_

"_Your box labelled 'Investigation Supplies' to be given to Naoto-onee-chan and have it delivered to your house, and not worry about you?" _Nanako repeated, making sure she to receive the message properly

"_Yes, that's right."_ I was now in front of the blue door which would lead back to Halkeginia.

"_Alright, I'll tell Outo-sama."_ It was at this point where one would end the conversation, but I felt I need to say something.

"_Hey Nanako…"_

"_Yes?"_

"_I'll try to find time to visit"_

"_Really?"_ I could hear her excitement through the phone. _"Promise?"_

"_I promise."_

"_Yay!"_ If I was there right now, I could imagine Nanako's cute face smiling happily.

"_Well, I'll see you soon Nanako."_

"_See you soon Onii-chan." _Nanako ended the call. I guess that wraps up all loose ends here on Earth. Time to go to Halkeginia and get some shut eye.

**~ Scene Break ~**

It's early morning now here in Halkeginia, and after some well needed sleep, I feel much better. The makeshift futon was very comfortable, and despite the fact there wasn't any ac unit, the temperature was slightly cold. The wonders of magic, I guess.

I finished up changing my clothes to my standard slacks and shirt when Louise, wearing her night dress, woke up. "Good Morning." I greeted while fixing some of my bags that I brought. I still need to find places to store all the stuff I brought.

Louise was somewhat still in a daze, with her rubbing her eyes and her hair's in a jumbled mess. Probably, she's not a morning person. "Munya~?"

Huh? She actually said 'Munya?' Uhh… I guess there are people who achoo when they sneeze or say 'sigh' when they sigh, but 'Munya'? Better not think about this too much.

"Good Morning." I repeated for her. It seems that brought her out of her stupor.

"Ohh… It wasn't a dream." Louise looked around, confirming that indeed this wasn't a dream.

"Do you want me to call lightning again?"

"No." Louise got off her bed and headed to her dresser before noticing something. "Where did all these… objects come from?"

"Oh… These." I pointed to the three bags and violin case on the ground. "I teleported them here last night while you were asleep. If I'm going to stay here to help you, I might as well get comfortable." Really comfortable. With all the manga, light novels, clothes, a walkman, some cds, and ipad, a laptop, batteries, and a violin, there's a lot of things for me to do to pass the time when I'm not doing something related to this unknown contract of mine.

"I'll wait for you outside." I took my violin case and left the room, giving Louise some privacy as she changed her clothes.

"Where to?" I asked as Louise exited her room

"Dining hall. You can't stay there though." Her voice was composed and dignified. I guess she ought to be, she's a noble even if she can't properly use magic.

"I understand." Aside from the social stratification which dictates that I'm a 'commoner', I'm also considered a familiar. Seen in that light, I'm considered sub-human, an animal. They would have separate locations for students and their familiars. "I'll be in the kitchen, if you don't mind."

As we walked, one of the doors in the hallway opened to show a female student. The one on the right was a tall, dark skinned, long red head with large sweater puppies which was too big for her uniform. I could even see the cleavage due to their size. I'd peg her as an amorous lady. Let's called her Miss Gainax for the time being.

When Miss Gainax saw Louise, she grinned broadly. "Good morning Louise."

Louise returned the greeting with an undecipherable expression. "Good morning … Kirche."

"That… is your familiar?" Kirche asked somewhat mockingly, pointing at me.

If this is the best you can do to insult me, you're not doing a good job. However, Louise is getting angry by the second. It wouldn't surprise me if Louise goes berserker on Miss Gainax.

"That's right."

"Ahaha! So it really is a human! That's amazing!" If I'm human, then you're a boob monster. I really pity you, having to experience back pains because of those huge tracts of land. Thankfully, I'm a guy so I don't have to experience carrying big watermelons.

"It's just like you to summon a commoner with 'Summon Servant.' What else to expect from Louise the Zero?"

Louise's cheeks flushed scarlet in anger. I placed my hand on Louise's shoulder which was shaking. Somehow, she understood what I meant and calmed down a bit.

I'm sure she noticed me attempting to prevent Louise's emotions from getting the best of her. Regardless, she just continued to rub it in.

"I summoned a familiar yesterday, too. Unlike a certain somebody, I was successful on my first try. And, if you're going to have a familiar, it should be a good one, like this. Flame!"

A large dark-red lizard the size of a tiger came out of her room. A flame on the tip of it's tail was burning, emanating heat. It's mouth was spouting flame and embers, breathing fire like a dragon. It feels like I'm close to a bonfire, with that fire. And that tail reminds me of Charmander. I wonder what would happen if the fire died out.

While I am amazed at this, I made sure not to display it on my face. It wouldn't do well for Louise if I'm amazed by this. Instead, I just glared intently at the lizard. "I wonder what would happen if I bombard this little guy with water and ice spells, aimed at it's tail? Would it die?" I asked, making sure that it sounded that I was actually contemplating on doing just that.

The reaction on Louise and Boob Monster's face was priceless. Both were looking at me, Louise being surprised, and Boob Monster shocked. I wonder why?

"What? Is there something on my face?" Feigning ignorance, I innocently asked while maintaining my fixed gaze on the lizard. The lizard, sensing something left us and returned to the room where it came from.

Apparently, that did the trick. Miss Gainax was a loss for words, and consequently so was Louise. Both were looking at me as if I was an incomprehensible being. Frankly, that isn't far off.

"Louise, you're gonna miss breakfast if you don't hurry." I stood up and continued on my way, leaving the two of them there. I imagine that they're thinking I'm some sort of ignorant idiot from the boondocks, or someone crazy. I congratulate myself on a rather well done first impression.


End file.
